EU to create rural development fund

The European Commission is proposing to create a single rural development fund with one programming and one control instrument from 2007 onwards.

It follows conclusions of a major conference, attended in Salzburg, Austria, earlier this year by stakeholders, academics and politicians.

Delegates concluded that a living countryside is not only in the interests of the rural society but of society as a whole. They agreed that preserving the diversity of Europe's countryside and encouraging the services provided by multifunctional agriculture is of ever growing importance.